Magnetic stripe technology is used throughout the world for identification (ID) and credit/debit transaction processes. Other technologies which can store more information, such as contact and contactless smart cards, continue to capture more of the magnetic stripe market as systems are upgraded. However, magnetic stripe cards, or tickets, remain a dominant technology, particularly for systems which have been in operation for a substantial time, such as mass transit systems.
Most fare collection systems of mass transit systems throughout the world accept credit card size magnetic stripe tickets. The ticket material and thickness, the location of the magnetic stripe, as well as the magnetic stripe format, vary from system to system. The most common design, conforming to the ISO standard, ISO-7810, entitled “Identification Cards—Physical Characteristics”, specifies the location of a single magnetic stripe. However, many mass transit authorities have customized tickets to avoid cross-use of tickets from one transit system to another. Customization of tickets may include variations on the number and the location of magnetic stripes. One or more magnetic stripes may be located on the front and back faces of the card. The magnetic stripe may be located in the center of the card, or offset to either side of center. Examples of tickets currently in use in transit systems throughout the world include a ticket configuration of a single magnetic stripe in a center position on the ticket back face, a single magnetic stripe offset on the ticket front face, and two magnetic stripes offset from the center on the ticket back.
In addition to location and number of magnetic stripes, tickets may vary in the type of magnetic media which ranges from low to high coercivity. Coercivity is a technical term used to designate the strength of a magnetic field required to affect data encoded on a magnetic stripe. Cards that are used in daily transactions typically have a high coercivity to provide the highest level of immunity to damage by stray magnetic fields. A further variation is in the track configuration of each magnetic stripe. For example, ANSI/ISO standards define three track locations for the magnetic stripe on credit/financial cards. The tracks are 0.110″ (0.279 cm) wide, with Track 1 closest to the card edge. Each track is utilized to store specific data types. Custom cards may specify the number of tracks and the data types stored on those tracks.
Customization of tickets presents disadvantages when modifications or updates of automatic fare collection (AFC) equipment is required since each custom ticket requires a custom-designed ticket processor. In addition, the mechanical structure of the ticket processor must be considered for each installation as the mechanism of the ticket processor may vary, not only between different transit authorities, but also may vary between different automatic fare collection equipment of the same transit authority. As a result, each custom ticket reader requires separate parts inventory for both the mechanical and electrical systems.
Therefore, a need remains for a universal ticket processor, reader/writer, which may be configured for all types of magnetically encoded tickets currently used in fare collection systems throughout the world.